These are the little Rond de Nice zukes that I waxed poetic about back in March — the ones I thought would be non-world-dominating, non-sneaky. But they ARE plenty exuberant and plenty abundant, and one cluster of them is plenty happy in the melon patch at my friend’s. She’s been eating blossoms for a bit, and last weekend I harvested two, one to chop and saute, and one to scoop out, stuff with the chicken-sausage-zucchini-poblano pepper macaroni and cheese recipe I’ve invented, and bake.

Something about that recipe made the entire kitchen smell divine. And if it wasn’t poblano peppers that I grew, oh well. (My saved seeds never germinated). If your garden, like mine, is delivering mixed blessings right now — somethings, like zucchini, doing great, others doing quite poopily, thank you, well, get thee to your local farmer’s market for cherries and lettuce and corn, oh my! My insanely abundant weekend haul included Amish speckled lettuce and spring turnips — I’d never known there were such things. The lettuce is a little chewy, a little on the bitter side, but ANY lettuce that looks good in this heat is fabulous in my book. And it tasted great with a few tomatoes and some olive oil and salt dumped on it. Dressing? I don’t need no stinkin’ dressing!

And if you can’t get to a farmer’s market, scurry to your local county fair and check out the veggies and fruits there. I was helping check in the fruits and veggies at Larimer County this morning, and oh! White acorn squashes to die for. Shiny yellow pumpkin-looking squash, in daddy and momma and baby bear sizes. One woman had GOOSEBERRIES and CURRANTS. A young 4-H’er named Nora finished tagging her own entries, then joined the ranks of volunteers, scurrying around our shelves delivering the plates of entries to their proper, labeled shelves. State entomologist Whitney Cranshaw had his usual, perennially award-winning kohlrabi. Extension Agent Alison Stoven, despite having had her garden smacked around by the Windsor tornado, had some fine-lookin’ pineapple mint, among other entries. And one proud grandma shepherded her daughter’s huge sugar beet entry. My brain is a blur of plates of peppers and string beans and vases of basil and dill and sage.

So if the blur of political news or the heat or traffic or just the insane rush of life has you down, there’s an antidote. Throw a cold go-cup of lemonade in the car and find your farmer’s market, and then your county fair. I defy you to leave without a smile.

Becky Hensley is the co-founder of Share Denver - a community craft space in Park Hill. She's also the proud Ninja-in Chief of the Denver Craft Ninjas -- a women’s crafting collective dedicated to keeping the DIY spirit alive through laughter, shared skills, and cocktails.

Colorado native Mark Montano is an international designer, artist, author and television personality. He has appeared on TLC’s “While You Were Out” and “10 Years Younger,” as well as “My Celebrity Home” on the Style Network, “She’s Moving In” on We TV, “The Tony Danza Show” on ABC, and “My Home 2.0” on Fox.